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Cited by 38Digital Economy and Work TransformationEmployment, Labor, and Gender StudiesLegal and Labor Studies

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What's in a Network? Infrastructures of Mutual Aid for Digital Platform Workers during COVID-19

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Qadri, Rida·2021·Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
DOI 10.1145/3479563

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Abstract

This paper examines the role played by informal mutual aid networks in mediating precarity for gig workers in Jakarta during COVID-19. Using an original survey of 350 mobility platform drivers conducted in May 2020 and a pre-pandemic set of semi-structured interviews with driver communities, I find that mutual aid dispersed through associative, informal labor networks became an essential infrastructure of support for drivers during the pandemic. Most drivers in Jakarta were able to mobilize pre-existing labor networks for extensive material and emotional support. However, results indicate this support was not universally accessible: the pre-pandemic structures of a driver's community and the driver's own participation within the community correlated with the magnitude of community support a driver reported receiving. By putting CSCW literature in conversation with broader literature on informal urbanism, this paper shows how informal labor networks and mutual aid can be a transformative, even outside of formal union structures. By analyzing the forms and limits of these networks this paper also carries lessons in how to build solidarity amongst distributed workforces. At the same time, this study highlights the role of local socio-economic context in shaping gig worker experiences of the pandemic. Thus, it points to the need for more contextually driven analysis of both gig worker precarity and what are deemed effective forms of labor solidarity

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  • Prior HCI scholarship has largely examined mutual aid in contexts of crisis informatics, focusing on assembled networks that respond to disruptions.

    “Prior HCI scholarship has largely examined mutual aid in contexts of crisis informatics, focusing on assembled networks that respond to disruptions [16, 26, 43, 46, 53, 67].”

    From Infrastructuring as Collective Resistance: How Disabled Students Negotiate Access Through Technology in Universities (2026) · cites this paper as [43]

    The Abstract describes mutual-aid networks supporting Jakarta gig workers during the COVID-19 disruption. It does not establish that prior HCI scholarship has largely studied mutual aid through crisis informatics; moreover, it says drivers mobilized pre-existing networks rather than networks assembled in response to the crisis. (LLM, conf=0.78)

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Research works printed but not linked: 42

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Metadata

Authors
Qadri, R.
Affiliations
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
Corresponding author
Qadri, Rida
ORCID
Qadri, Rida
Venue
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Publisher
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Published
2021-10-13
Volume
5
Issue
CSCW2
Pages
1-20
ISSN
2573-0142 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1145/3479563
OpenAlex
W3206200317
Cited by
38
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5
FWCI
6.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • SocArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • SocArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Economy and Work Transformation
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Industrial relations › Employment, Labor, and Gender Studies
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Industrial relations › Legal and Labor Studies
Keywords
mutual aid networks, gig workers, platform workers, COVID-19 pandemic, precarious employment, worker solidarity, urban informality, Jakarta, distributed workforce, community support

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